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Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Shalem Institute, this collection of experiential and academic essays offers modern contemplative reflections from new and renowned voices in spiritual leadership.
Founded in 1973 by the Rev. Dr. Tilden H. Edwards, Jr., Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation offers retreats, workshops, and groups centered around contemplative spirituality. The culmination of half a century of charitable ministry, this commemorative anthology features essays written by Shalem graduates, as well as current and former board members and program directors. Its release will coincide with the Shalem Institute’s 50th anniversary.
Co-edited by Shalem graduate and board member Westina Matthews, Shalem’s Executive Director Margaret Benefiel, and Jackson Droney, Shalem’s Director of Operations and Online Learning, Soul Food takes an inclusive and contemporary approach to contemplative living and leadership. Designed in alignment with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives, this vital book spotlights authors of different ethnicities, faith backgrounds, and gender identities, while consistently centering the development of day-to-day practices designed to deepen engagement with the divine. With essays from notable contributors from Shalem's past and present, such as Tilden Edwards, the institute's founder and former director; Gay Byron, Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at Howard University; and Carl McColman, well-known Christian mystic and spiritual director, this collection looks to the future, set to serve as an invaluable resource in spiritual formation for the next 50 years, and beyond.
“Established by Tilden Edwards those many years ago, the Shalem Institute has continued to offer a safe space for diverse individuals to engage with the sacred and restore the divine image of an abundant, loving God. An illuminating addition to any spiritual library, Soul Food is a testament to the institute’s rich history and commitment to transformative spiritual growth.” – Fr. Richard Rohr, author of Falling Upward and founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation
"Soul Food is a courageous, liberatory anthology with essential reading for spiritual direction formation and training programs, and for the ongoing personal and professional growth of spiritual companions." —Presence: An International Journal of Spiritual Direction
“Exploring numerous rich perspectives on contemporary Christianity—from gender identity and theological languaging to issues of recovery, welcome and inclusion, decolonization, and social action, among others—the authors are unafraid to tackle new perspectives, all the while staying firmly rooted in the core of their faith. Anyone interested in immersing themselves in these topics will be well served here.” –Rev. SeiFu Singh-Molares, Executive Director, Spiritual Directors International
"With this book, Shalem sets forth a radical agenda for the next fifty years where we must do all we can to bend the arc of the moral universe toward love, truth, and justice. If you have any affinity for the contemplative life, you'll find this book a compelling companion as we work and pray for the Beloved Community." —Parker J. Palmer, author of Let Your Life Speak, The Courage to Teach, and On the Brink of Everything
"Soul Food is a community of contemplative authors also compassionately addressing the ailments of our society. Their work offers us new wineskins of openheartedness, which can help us create a larger table where everyone is invited to sit and have plenty. It invites all to savor Love, the '(Ancient) New,’ and it gives us contemplative ways to do that in a world of collective and personal trauma." —Dr. Carmen Acevedo Butcher, poet and translator of Br. Lawrence’s Practice of the Presence and The Cloud of Unknowing
"Today, if there is one word that says what our human family most urgently needs to recover, awe is that word. Experiencing awe makes us one. Awe is the magic wand that can transform I-thinking into We-thinking and rescue us from self-destruction. That Soul Food devotes so much space to awe honors Shalem’s finest tradition and makes it a most timely book of hope for the world." —Br. David Steindl-Rast, Benedictine monk, author, and co-founder of Grateful Living
"Soul Food is a worthy guide for those who seek to walk in the light and share that light with others. Thoughtful and engaging on many levels, it is indeed a nourishing book." —Sophfronia Scott, author of The Seeker and the Monk: Everyday Conversations with Thomas Merton
"This celebratory volume for the Shalem Institute is less commemorative than exuberant. It marks a rich history of leadership in spiritual formation by offering challenging and visionary reflection on the future of contemplation. The feast offered is varied, rich, and engaging—some of it stimulating, some soothing, all providing much-needed nourishment that defies ready categorization, except for its quality. This is a further gift to all who have benefitted from the work of Shalem, and all who should." —The Very Rev. Dr. Andrew McGowan, Dean and President, Berkeley Divinity School, McFaddin Professor of Anglican Studies, Yale Divinity School
"For an everyday, this-worldly perspective on contemplative life and leadership, read Soul Food. Any one of the essays will be worth the whole book."—Keith Kristich, Meditation Teacher and Founder of the online, interspiritual community Closer Than Breath
"This book is a spiritual gamechanger. Soul Food demonstrates that the life of prayer and contemplation is never detached from the urgent issues of the day, reminding us that the foundation of the spiritual life is all about contemplation and leadership. These essays will make you pray, think, see, act, and live differently. Their voices are the tongues of fire calling us into a new experience of Pentecost and sacred living." —The Rev. Dr. Mark Francisco Bozzuti-Jones, Priest and Director of Spiritual Formation at Trinity Retreat Center and author of Absalom Jones and Face to the Rising Sun
Foreword
Valerie Brown
A Note from the Founder
Tilden Edwards
Introduction
Westina Matthews, Margaret Benefiel, and Jackson Droney
Led by Starlight Down a Marvelous Road
Winston Breeden Charles
Part 1: Welcoming and Belonging
God's Pronouns: A New Translation of a Mystical Classic Invites Us Into the Beautiful Mystery of Gender
Carl McColman
Listening for the Holy
Sarah Forti
Contemplative Collegiality: Caring for the Souls of Black Biblical Scholars
Gay L. Byron
From Censorship to Contemplation: Silence in Queer Life
J. M. Smith
Toward a Decolonising Spiritual Direction Practice: Weeping, Gnashing Teeth, and Opening to the (Ancient) New
Althea Banda-Hansmann
I Am
Joanne Youn
Tell Me about Mary's Rage
Amanda Lindamood
To Heal What Ails Us: Belonging through Group Spiritual Direction
Melanie Dobson
Part 2: Holy Awe
A Thousand Paths to Contemplation
Westina Matthews
Seeing with the Eyes of the Heart: Social Justice and the Art of Spiritual Guidance
Phillip Stephens
Coming to Our Senses: Embracing Wonder and Gratitude
Leah Moran Rampy
Embodying Contemplative Leadership: Howard Thurman and Feeding the Timeless Hunger of the Human Spirit
Lerita Coleman Brown
Considerations of Recovery, Centering Prayer, and Social Justice Action
Anita-Yvonne (AY) Bryant
What Your Tender Heart Knows
Marcelle Martin
Embodied Contemplation of Deep Time: Resourcing for Spiritual Resilience
Kolya Braun-Greiner
A Contemplative View of Resilient Aging
Elaine Voci
Summer Day of the Owls
DanaLee Simon
Contributors
Vision Statement 2025
Acknowledgements